“It sends a clear message not just to the Afghan government, but to other
donors as well, that this is an important issue and it’s something other
people should speak out about,” she said.

On Friday, British Foreign Secretary William Hague tweeted his concern
and said his country’s ambassador was “urgently” raising the matter with
Afghan authorities.

Yet human rights groups say international silence has become the norm as
women’s rights in Afghanistan have been rolled back over the past year, a
concern privately echoed by Canadian officials.

The setbacks include a 20-per-cent reduction in the number of seats
reserved for women in provincial councils, and attacks by Afghan
parliamentarians on the country’s landmark Law on Elimination of Violence
Against Women.

There was even a short-lived attempt in November to re-introduce the
practice of stoning adulterers to death, and there has been a marked
increase in the number of assaults and murders of female MPs and activists.

The fact that all of this is happening while Western troops and diplomats
are still in Afghanistan makes prospects for the future all the more bleak.

The international community has repeatedly professed its support for
women’s rights, but Barr said other countries are not speaking out as the
focus is now on getting out of Afghanistan.

Some Western nations have also
indicated reluctance to raising the issue when the Afghan government and
Taliban are negotiating a possible peace.

Yelich alluded to this in her statement, saying Canada is committed to
ensuring “hard-fought gains regarding the rights of women and girls are not
rolled back for a false sense of stability.”

The promotion of women’s and children’s rights was touted as a key
objective during Canada’s 12-year involvement in Afghanistan, which cost
about $10 billion and more than 160 lives.

But Canada is also in a unique position
to criticize the Afghan government from its allies as the last of its troops
will be gone from the country next month, while many of them will still be
there for months if not years.

Canada will provide $330 million over three years starting in 2015 to
support Afghanistan’s security forces, but is expected to have a minimal
diplomatic and development presence on the ground.

Despite this, Barr was hopeful the decision to speak out against the
proposed law represented a new chapter in Canada’s involvement in
Afghanistan.

“Perhaps we’re seeing a new engagement, a sort of re-engagement,” she
said. “That would be great because there’s a bit of a void there.”

Canada needs to first address the problem of "Male Sharia Law" in Canada
where Men, Fathers have NO legal rights and have to be subjected to endless
abuse and violence by women promoted by the likes of
Ottawa Police Detective Peter Van Der Zander and Marguerite Isobel Lewis of
the Children's Aid Society who both fabricate evidence and obstruct justice
to place children with child abusers.